Ask Ollie
Puffy Foam Snow Painting
Here's one to try together!
Mix fluffy foam and glue into puffy paint snow that dries soft and springy, like a real snowdrift on paper!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- Shaving foam stings eyes: keep it away from faces
- Shaving foam and glue are not for eating
- Glitter stings eyes: leave it out for little ones
- Scented shaving foam can bother sensitive skin: use unscented if unsure
What you need
- White shaving foam, 2 large handfuls
- White glue, 3 spoonfuls
- Bowl, 1
- Spoon, 1
- Paper, 2 or 3 sheets
- Paintbrushes or craft sticks, a few
- Plate or tray, 1
- Glitter, a pinch (optional)
- Peppermint scent, 1 drop (optional)
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Cover the table, set out a tray with a bowl and spoon, and have dark paper and brushes ready. Keep a damp cloth nearby for foamy fingers.
- Squirt two big handfuls of foam into the bowl.
- Add three spoonfuls of glue on top.
- Fold it gently with the spoon to keep it fluffy.
- Poke the mixture with your fingers. How does it feel? Ask: Is it squishy, sticky, cold or light as a cloud?
- Sprinkle in glitter or a peppermint drop, if you like. Ask for help if you need it
- Spread your snow on the dark paper.
- Shape snowmen, hills, storms or a polar bear.
- Lay it flat and let it dry for a few hours. Ask: When it dries, will it feel squishy, hard or springy?
- Later: press the dry snow and feel it spring back.
- Show your family, or make more! What snowy scene comes next? Ask: What would you paint next: a snowy town, a mountain or an igloo?
Play it again
- Rainbow snow: fold in a drop of food coloring to make pastel snow.
- Snow letters: write your name or a word in puffy snow letters.
- Texture hunt: make one painting with only thick heaps and one with only thin frost, then compare how they feel.
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